Saag Paneer

[humkire]

(First of all my apologies to all my gurmukh gurpyareh gururoop satsangis here, especially those who remembered me in their ardas during my operation. The last few months have been a challenging time of post-op recovery. Felt as if I had died without it being even noticed hehe, not that I would like it to be noticed at all, when Gurujee hopefully blesses me with Akal Chelana one day in time! A Sikh’s life is never like GroundHog Day but is like a meandering river of bismad and gurkautaks and chojs as the journey of life extends through mountains and valleys, right till we breath the last of our predestined number of mortal swas.)

As I read around different topics on here, there are important connections between seemingly different topics that I wish to open for discussion. There is the issue of the gray’s gurudwara and meat and alcohol consumption within the gurudwara complex during weddings etc, Southampton gurudwara with meat during langar, ragi not mentioning SGGS satkar protocal youtube video, ‘Sikh’ businesses selling tobacco and alcohol etc.

This is a mind boggling pleuthora of beadbi and Sikhi satkar issues that sometimes seem to dominate and trickle their way into every forum topic. Sometimes, I feel they can create an illusion that Sikhi is nothing but a stressful set of strict puritannical do’s and don’t’s, involving some hurt, angry, sensitive and upset people who do not appear to have humour, joy, patience, and greater tolerance in their lifes.

My aim here is not to present my opinions about beadbi, because there are no two Sikhs I know of, who are a hundred percent agreed about about everything and anything there is about Sikhi, and from my experience it hardly takes five minutes of serious discussion between any 2 Sikhs to see that their understanding of Sikhi was not rolled out robot style in a factory in China! but differs somewhere or the other. Rather, I wish to gaze into the steaming theological crucible, from which all beadbi related issues spit out constantly.

Some pertinent questions are;

1)how do we find the balance between fighting these beadbi fires on the one hand, and on the other, emphasise the fact that a Sikh is a person superflowing and superfilled with anand, daya, seel, santukh, nimrta, gyan and sabar and has risen above human misgiving and religious legalisticness.

2)how do we let nothing distract us from our main aim which ought to be Sikhi parchar. Plenty of beadbi was happening during the lifetimes of Bhai Sahib Bhai Randheer Singh, Sant Jarnail Singh Bindrawale, Bhai Sahib Bhai Vir Singh,Kaleran Vale Sant Attar Singh, Yogi Bhajan, Maskin ji, etc and the countless list of other leading Sikh luminaries. Not that they overlooked it, but they countered it with jeewans marked by endless amounts of Sikhi parchar to bring Sikhi to the masses, to inspire, to educate, to teach and to preach. A lot of what we see good about Sikhs and Sikhi is due to the efforts of gurmukhslike them who focused on living oocha soocha jeewans and becoming charismatic saints of Naam magnetically attracting everyone around themselves to Sikhi, and facilitating everyone they knew into getting zapped by dhan Sikhi. Yogi Bajan Singh even brought Sikhi to the whites!

Without liking to judge, I have an unexplained crinchy feeling for some time now, that many of us who have a lot of tall talk about beadbi, and sincerely do love and care for Sikhi and will defend Sikhi tooth and nail, somehow are failing to recognise the importance of Sikhi parchar in their own lifes, and are defenders more than strikers. We are focussing on maintaining status quo, rather than pushing boundaries. On countless occasions I have been to Southall and seen many chardikela Singhs/Singneeas there but never have I once seen a single one of them(rather us!), taking a group of invited non Sikh friends for a tour or explanation of a gurudwara, or bringing them around for gurpurab.

3)This brings me to the next point' What exactly does Sikhi mean to us? When we are talking about protocals of respect towards SGGS, are we talking about protocals that actually have more to do with hindu and punjabee culture, rather than Tat Sikhi. Our 10 Gurdevs lived in an era of time and space where there were cultural protocals consistent with the geographic area and general culture of the populance they lived and preached in. Some of these they rejected, others they allowed but was it meant that Sikhi would be forever cast and contained within these protocals, or rather did our Gurus bless and trust their children(us!) to flourish, spread themselves around the globe, and allow Sikhi to grow and express itself within the protocals of respect inherent in other cultures. Guidance issuing from our Takhts have to take into account the globalisation and internationalisation of Sikhi and our leaders at the helm need to understand this. My sisters in law for example had to demonstrate their respect outwardly to my mother by covering their heads( but hated her within!) but, at my business, all the white women who work for me do not cover their heads because that’s not their way of showing respect, but the respect they show me in millions of other ways would put my sister in laws to shame and in fact it makes me love these ladies as my own daughters. In the UK sometimes we use wit too, to show respect. Once a customer told me my food is 'terrible'. In English culture, it can be a witty way of saying he liked it.I get customers from all around the world, and it is intriguing, observing how respect is shown differently whether you are chinese, japanese, ghanaian, eritrean, spanish , norwegian etc.

Sikhi was not meant to be some inflexible, aging, ancient and archaic religious philosophy adorned perpetually with Hinduistic and punjabee culture protocals. Sikhi is mahan, is a living, growing, multiplying faith that so far has seen the seed and only now is beginning to sprout into something incredibly more powerful and beautiful than you reading this can ever imagine, because whats coming in Sikhi is beyond your best imagination, your religious and cultural mindset, and your personal preferences. Our Gurdevs rolled out something that would snowball into something utterly fantastic for future generations, but, remember, a butterfly comes from a caterpillar but does not look like a caterpillar.

The challenge for this and future generations is to recognise within the seeds and winds of change, what is to be embraced and what is detrimental for Sikhi and adjust accordingly. Our Gurdevs during their mortal journeys showed us how Sikhi is not meant to be stale but is meant to spiral upwards as Khalsa Panth progresses. In the UK, and wherever there are four seasons, it is interesting to note how each season brings with it new beauty, new forms and new colours a point even Baramah bani in SGGS emphasises. These are things to think about, and relate to Sikhi because Sikhi is like a beautiful oak tree that is growing from an acorn to a gigantic huge rock solid giant tree with millions of big leaves and real hard steady branches from which houses are made. We need to stop turning back to look at the acorn and trying to be acorn again, but merge our miniature vision into the mighty Vision of things to come.

Saying it this way, is not to pump your or my ego about Sikhi, but to humble us that Sikhi really requires us to not hide those boring old ways of petty, stubborn, and argumentative human behaviour, as well as disagreement, rife and everything else earthly behind the garbs of religion and in the name of religion. We need to recognise that to be a Sikh and Sikhi requires far more from us, than to be convenient amritdharee nitnemis who use religion very hypocritically. We slap an akal takht maryada on whoever is doing anything wrong, but we never ever write a single letter to akal takt why women should no longer be excluded from kirtan and other duties in Darbar Sahib or allowed to be one of the 5 piaras during Amrit Pahul, and that’s just one stone pulled out there! We spent so much energy crying foul and screaming our heads off when Darshan Singh Ragi said and did what he did which any white person would probably just ignore and dismiss as a case of the 3D's in Jackass 3D due to his old age,(which would have left some room of appreciation for what good he did for Sikhi prior to that), yet how many of us have resolved to learn kirtan,indepth path and give up our jobs and tour for Sikhi around the world.

We worry about other people’s lack of satkar to SGGS and gurudwaras and waste no time to go witch hunting at the first oppurtunity and look more startled than Catherine Tate could possibly look in her shows about things that shock. Yet, in our individual lifes we secretly or unawaredly do more beadbi of gurbani and show less satkar to Sikhi than we display on our holier than thou pedestals here. Why do I say that? Because for all our protectionist attitudes, what can we show cause in terms of spreading Sikhi to people of other cultures apart from punjabee and is this part of our individual resolutions? Have we used hard earned money to buy books on Sikhi for non Sikhs? Do we try to understand SGGS/DSGGS line by line, word by word as part of a slow lifelong study of gurbani as a personal project? What are we doing for Sikhi apart from organising coaches to protests and posting some angry comments here making us look more loyal than loyal, that spreads the shan and mehanta of Sikhi to the local communities we live in? Forget about meat eating, what about the blatant abuse three quarters or more of our gurudwaras do to granthis who live in gurudwaras denying them proper accomodation, bullying them, hiring and firing them at leisure and underpaying them. That to me is even a bigger beadbi because it brings a massive holy curse on the panth to allow its guru-ghar-wazirs to be demonically mistreated this way.

We do our nitnem, fulfill some bits of rehat and then indulge in some psychological satisfaction that we are the ‘real deal’ compared to those less educated/informed elders who came to UK 30-40 years ago in a struggle for survival and set up shops selling things not encouraged for our personal use in Sikhi. We forget that in their adoora-poon they also did make efforts to hold on to whatever little they did understand about Sikhi such as setting up gurudwaras all over UK, teaching us-their kids punjabi, tell us we are Sikhs, and facilitate our affiliation with punjab. Our posts here have to show our appreciation for all of this, rather than show us having completed a full circle of the process of westernisation and 'coconutisation' by becoming hardhearted, headstrong, sensitive, opinionated, arm chair critics that start their sentences with ifs and buts. In fact if we truly understand Gurbani, we would realise we are hardly a step higher then those we hate or criticise as we do antheri-dhyan of the lachans we have accumulated, with bibek buddhi and compare them with the 6 main lachans of a true gurmukh as described by fifth Gurdev Pita in slok sanskrit, pg 1357, SGGS.

Actually, for all our abidance, obedience and adherence to rehat and Sikhi, we have our own mind blocks to undo which prevent us from seeing who we really are and can be in Sikhi. A Sikh is death’s death and life’s life!- that is our real inheritance from our Gurujee. As you walk, what do you constantly think of? If it is not you hearing Wah as you breath in, and Guru as you breath out, then you are committing beadbi of your swaas and of this temple of your body which is supposed to be a mobile gurudwara. Are you constantly preaching Sikhi like a true saint to Whoever and Whatever comes across your path in your rehni behni kehni and sehni, if not you are comitting beadbi of your mobile-gurudwara-human body in which resides antar-gur. Do gurbani verses flow like the air you breath out from your mouth, if not a beadbi is being comitted by your tongue. Is every calorie of whatever food-fuel you are eating getting burned up in doing something beautiful for Sikhi or do you secretly indulge in lustful thoughts, non-naam based thoughts,thoughts about money and marriage and maya ever so often, because if you are, you are comitting beadbi of Sikhi big time. You are waiting to slap Harbans Singh Jagardhree Wale who just lost a son and cannot see very well, and has been a source of great inspiration towards Sikhi maybe not for you but others, for a slip up in announcing head covering protocal during a crowded marriage, but I bet you my last penny you who hold a stone to throw are not without sin yourself. You do ardas but I see not you following the maryada of vekh ke andith kerna. Word play we can all indulge in, but beware that Mahablee Shree Guru Gobind Singh is staring into your heart, not about how anyone on earth could possibly do beadbi of Him, but the beadbi You do of Him in your personal life in the midst of all your prayers and internet postings and get away, scot free with it.

My aim in all this, for those who know me is not to indulge in bashing anyone but to think deeper. Bhai Dharam Singh Zakhmi, during a kirtan darbar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at Tat Khalsa Gurudwara in the 1970’s, said one thing I never forgot, a Sikh is one who does dhyan-ka –dhyan i.e introspects the direction of his thoughts, and questions himself within. We need to do more of this individually, and together. Instead of constantly fighting dry-forest beadbi fires, lets have more Sikhi parchar rain to dampen the ground, from beadbi happening. Then satkar will be a natural byproduct as has been proved in generations before this.

We need to be a community that starts having a game-plan about things, about how to have gurudwaras that are not ugly looking urban sprawls but engage and respect traditional local architecture and promote urban greenery, and look very beautiful with gardens and water fountains, and promote Tat Sikhi and have beautiful side residences for guru ghar sewaks. We need to have a vision for parchar, for our future, for our kids, for future generations that emphasises on education about Sikhi and unity among Sikhs, that has a highly educated non politicised independent clergy and leadership, and engages Sikhi with the needs of a suffering world seeking answers to its future. We need to see from here to beyond as to how Sikhi is a force that does not submit to any culture but makes all cultures submit to it. We live in very exciting times when Sikhi is on the verge of a mighty release from the stranglehold of Punjabee culture on it, and we have to be harbingers of this change. Remember the saag paneer you love in a gurudwara is more Punjabee than Sikh!

[.- Prabhjot Singh -.]

Sorry for not reading the complete post but i could not contain my excitement it feels really good to see you here again humkire jeo glad to know Maharaj is keeping you in good spirits! Waheguru :waheguru:

[humkire]

pJs veerjee,

Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru meh ki aakha agoh tuhanu haha. I am doubly excited because Gurujee has blessed me to be back for more kirpa through Gurmukhs like yourself and all the rest of our blessed matava, veers and bhenjees, and choteh bhetas and bhetees here. Vekho nah aapah ral milh keh hee ek duje nu chardikela val prerna heh, heh ke na? Please thank Gurujee that He listened to your life and death situation vali ardas for me, and all the intense pain is lifted by Guru's miracle, and replaced by chardikela, and aagoh vee sanu ardas time teh yaad karna guru maharaj sanu hor vee chardikela and kirtan simran rehat di daat bekshan

[VanHelsingh]

A wonderful, wonderful post. Something I was hoping to post but didn't have the courage considering I'm new to this forum. I hope your words are not misunderstood.

[humkire]

A wonderful, wonderful post. Something I was hoping to post but didn't have the courage considering I'm new to this forum. I hope your words are not misunderstood.

kaljugi jee,

Courage comes from Gurujee whether you are old or new to this forum, does not matter. A sikh always asks Gurujee to bless us with nirbheta(fearlessness). Gurbani says nirbhau jaapeh, sagal bhau mithe. What ever you need to be a good Sikh but dont have, including courage, ask Gurujee and Gurujee will give, do not ever doubt that. Jo mangeh thakur appaneh te soi soi deveh. Ask as a humble stubborn beggar if need be and you will be able to make a dying unconscious man that doctors have given up hope on, come back to life. AN evil person sees either his redemption or his death when he sees a Sikh, and a spiritual person sees God and eternal life in a Sikh. Courage is also a natural byproduct of being honest, sincere, loving, humble and comes as you walk on Sikhi marg.

It is better to be misunderstood than to refrain from saying that, which you feel God guiding you to do, or say, which will help to reflect the shan of Khalsa Panth, and further, the cause of Sikhi. A wise person for whom it is intended will always see the wisdom of one's words if indeed they are wise, and a foolish person (forget your or my words) will even read gurbani and live life in circles, or as Gyani Maan Singh Jhaur once put it, will remain a kerchi(ladle) that stirs a curry but does not melt and become curry. If you are sincere and God led, Gurujee knows the magic of making who He wants to read what you write, or listen to what you say, and make them see its worth.

So every time you post do an ardas before you post, and then post, and it does not matter even if you get misunderstood, or are not a hundred percent correct. We abide in this forum as a family, correcting and sharpening each other, as iron sharpens iron. This is our Khalsa love for each other.

[VanHelsingh]

Thank-you humkire for the words of advice. I apologise if I've not fallen into addressing everyone with 'ji', etc., as I've not really addressed anyone in this way on internet forums. I hope as I become accustomed to this forum I begin to stand out less! Although standing out is not a bad thing necessarily - blind obedience is not desirable in my opinion (as your wonderful post pointed out if I understood one of your many relevant arguments correctly).

[humkire]

Jee again is a punjabee/hindi urban cultured norm so dont worry about it. It is the substance that really counts. Gurujee does not keep repeating jee in addressing even God in Gurbani. Also do not worry about standing out. Thats for God to decide who should stand out and who needs to be a backbencher, and it ends up like playing musical chairs anyway, such is life.

As to blind obedience and non blind obedience, we need to use bibek buddhee(the power of discrimination via one's wisdom to decide between two or more choices) to decide which is which, and which is appropiate when. For example, we can exercise outright blind obedience to anything gurbani says we should do, that appears crystal clear such as chanting naam, doing kirtan, reading gurbani, helping others, doing parchar, etc. However in our dealings with others, we may have to decide between being humble, soft and forgiving, and being brave and fearless and telling off the other person in no uncertain terms using in that instance anger as a tool, not as a master. I humbly told my neighbour a million times to not park his car behind mine but he kept doing it insensitively, and I even missed going to london for a gurpurab once because of this! Then one day, I roared like a lion so the entire street could hear me, looked at that man in the eye with red angry eyes, spoke very authoratatively and had the face of a sher with my beard and all. He was visibly shaken and never did it again.

Working out what to do when, and how to adjust to a changing situation is a tricky business. Every Gurujee took Sikhi a step further, adding more roop to Sikhi. Guru Gobind Singh Jee crystallised all that in Khalsa. But Khalsa is again the starting point for millions more magical things Sikhi has, is, and will show because Sikhi is eternal with countless starting points. I have lived through a few different changing generations now and have seen how each generation of Sikhs are a starting point for the next generation who do more things for Sikhi and make Sikhi look even more beautiful. But I have also noticed that holding back from change, too much of looking back, fearing change, resisting change can be harmful not only for Sikhi but for anything. For example, a lot of people have a problem with australian Bhai Daya Singh's kirtan because it is multicultural in instrumentation and style. However it is necessary and in fact I would encourage young Sikhs to use popular styles like dub, reggae, hip hop , breakbeat, soca meringe, even rock etc etc etc to try to convey gurbani to people from other cultures who are used to these musical forms. Likewise I would encourage Sikhs in different countries in Europe like spain, france, norway , switzerland, germany to be prolific translators of gurbani in these languages and even provide translation of this website in those languages. I can never understand for example why the Sikhs in m'sia, and sing'pore or hong kong do not try to translate gurbani into chinese.

Even in terms of modern media, we are still short of using internet resources to the best of Sikhi's advantage.

This is where our future sewa lies if we want to follow Guru Nanak's example on the footsteps of His birthday and spread Sikhi globally. Gurujee infact dressed, talked , ate etc according to the places he visited during his long parchar tours. There would have been no saag paneer and gobi parathas awaiting mardana in mecca and no ready made bana for mardana in china. Hence we must be blindly obedient to Gurujee, but Gurujee has given us buddhi and would expect His future children to understand, interpret and express Sikhi intelligently from generation to generation. That is why Gurujee did not make us blind morons who can only operate by doing as told but made us His equals through Amrit and demonstrated especially through the story of the 5 Singhs ordering Gurujee to leave the kila of Anandpur, that the Khalsa has been empowered to make decisions for the good and future progress of the panth.

I will give you a little example even though its not the best. I run a business and I expect my staff to do as told and to be obedient. I have been running this for 15 years so all a new employee has to do is to do as told and I know that through my experience they will be fine. However, I also train them to be able to run the business on their own when I am not around super smoothly. They are trained to be humble, to respect my authority and trust my knowledge and experience but through that I train them to fill my role and make necessary decisions on their own. Hence blind obedience is like a 50p coin. It gets translated into empowerment as one gains Gurgyan and Gurkirpa.

Each Gurdev you could say at one level was blindly obedient to the earlier one, e.g Guru Angad to Guru Nanak. That level of utter humility only facilitated learning, gaining experience and Guru mehar so that eventually Bhai Lehna who came to lehna(take), through blind obedience took and infact became trusted and empowered to be Guru Angad Dev. As Guru Nanak translated, Guru Angad then took Sikhi many steps further and further and each subsequent Gurdev then continued this. This was the context in which I meant that we as Khalsa have a mandate to now take Sikhi into the 21st century through Gurujee's kirpa by working out where Gurujee wants us to go next in the journey of eternal Sikhi through time!